The intersection of Sports & Islam

Former boxing champ Chris Eubank on his conversion to Islam

During a 13-year professional boxing career, Chris Eubank compiled a record of 45 wins (23 by knockout), 5 losses and 2 draws. He won two world championships: the WBO middleweight title and WBO super-middleweight title, successfully defending the latter belt 14 times.

Now 50 years old, the once infamous eccentric and stylish British legend — who was so good in the ring that his nickname was “Simply The Best” — is back in the boxing spotlight as he manages the career of his son, 27-year-old middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. (23-1, 18 KOs).

The senior Eubank converted to Islam in the 1990s, and in the videos posted below, he opens up about his religion in a short documentary from 1996:

I found it admirable that Eubank was able to be honest about his life as a new Muslim, even if it didn’t make him look like the world’s greatest Muslim. Celebrity or not, people in Eubank’s position often feel like they have to present themselves as flawless representations of their religion.

When Eubank talked about not praying five times every day, I think that is something to which a lot of converts can relate.

Whether it is maintaining regular prayer, eating halal food, dressing in accordance to Islamic customs of modesty, or avoiding behavior like back-biting, these are real challenges for Muslim converts (like myself) who have grown up and/or live in Western societies in which Islamic practices are not the culture norm as they are in Muslim-majority countries.